As Santa streaked across the sky last night, so too this 535i sailed from Germany to America, ready to bestow a lovely present upon some good boy or girl. It’s a nice early example of the E34 with the 3.4 liter M30B35, updated from the E28 generation with newer fuel injection an a higher compression ratio to yield 208hp, a 26hp improvement over the B34. This example appears to have been a continuing project for its owners and now sports additions on the exterior, interior, and engine bay to make it more than your average E34. An M5’s steering wheel and leather seats look great and are complimented by Schmidmann bit and short shifter, while the same company provided a subtly aggressive bodykit and racing headers. Classic 3-piece, 17″ BBS Style 5s bring the Motorsports feel as well. It’s no M5 or M540i, but it is a nicely-styled and unique European E34.
Author: Nate
What constitutes an ///M car? That’s a pretty confusing question these days as an M760Li is announced, ready to pile on to with decidedly non-Motorsport badge bunnies like the X4 M40i to rake up premium profits. If those cars can be ///Mified, then this E30 would certainly qualify as an M318is. Or M330is rather, as it now sports the early E36 M3s’ S50B30. The only mileage listed is 140k, perhaps the engine and chassis covered similar distances before they were joined. Said original chassis, body, and interior look pretty decent, with some paint issues and a little wear on the seats. Those will be forgiven as the E30 relishes in its newfound 240hp glory in the hills. It would probably make a great cruiser too, if not for the low gearing that makes it do 4k RPM at 70mph. Overall it’s a pretty tidy E30 package as they experience never before seen levels of demand.
Click for details: 1991 BMW 318is S50 on Bellingham Craigslist
1 CommentGrowing up, tuner VWs were the coolest cars out there to me. I spent hours rewatching the Hans Dahlback videos, and though Eurotuner was entertaining, it felt more legitimate when Road & Track did features with companies like Oettinger or HPA. Carter featured this Greek Golf, complete with Oettinger engine and full Zender bodykit and Turbo wheels. Some great translation errors like “modificated” and less than complete pictures don’t help the fear of buying a car from a country more financially screwed than the US in the Great Depression. I hope it’s legit though, as this would drop the jaws of any American VW enthusiasts. The marks against it have conspired to make the seller drop the price from $15k to $8,999 while driving it some 3km, a brutal 40% drop in what he thought he could get for it. Considering the prices we’re seeing on nice, stock Mk1s, if you can get this safely into the US for under $12k all in you’d have a great car and not a bad investment.
– NR
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Volkswagen Golf Oettinger on eBay
The below post originally appeared on our site March 4, 2014:
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As I fantasized the other week about rocking a Golf Country into the mountains, I didn’t really account for the limiting factors of a lifted hatchback. Yes, it can probably get you and a couple of friends over and through just about anything, but what about your stuff? Or your other friends? Hatchbacks are certainly known for utility, but when you start talking sleds, camp stoves, extra clothes, and maybe more than 4 people, you’re either going to have the biggest roof rack known to man or have to look at a bigger automobile.
Back, then, to most popular Syncro, the Vanagon! This isn’t a Westy, just a tintop, of which we’ve seen some decent examples before. An all-wheel drive tin box that can carry 7 comfortably, and this one has a burly cargo rack on top that can gather any and all snow toys you need. It’s not as fancy as some nor does it have the pop-top, but that cuts the price by over half. It’s not as immaculate as the Golf Country, with some general interior wear and a rebuilt engine and transmission a few years ago, but it looks pretty nice for 220k miles and sports some quality upgrades like Emu shocks and disc brakes. There’s plenty to do to make it cleaner and personalized, but it’s a great start on a van that could take winter adventures to the next level.
Click for details: 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro on eBay
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Ah, what a fun car to find right around the holidays. This 535is, resplendent in Santa’s Sleigh red. It’s about as clean as his sleigh would be leading up to the holidays too, with a decently redone interior and excellent respray sometime back. The E28 535is is an outstanding car, bringing a significant portion of the legendary M5’s allure at significantly reduced prices and a much wider selection of colors. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one this clean, with just 119k miles, but the huge caveat is the single-axis shifter, meaning it will be much more comfortable cruising rather than sprinting in the hills. But Santa needs something stylish, fast, and comfortable, and this E28 hits all the bases.